Andrew WK- Close Calls With Brick Walls

[IAMSCREWD]

I bought this as an import off of eBay frm South Korea. It has 4 extra tracks on it. Apparently AWK is releasing 3 new albums from 2006-07 all in different countries exclusively. Close Calls came out this past July. "Young Lord" will be released in the states, and "The Carrier" will be released in Europe sometime in the near future.

He has really changed since "I Get Wet" Does anyone else have this CD or know about the whole Andrew WK/ Steev Mike conspiracy/controversy. It's really weird to say the least and if you are a fan and like mysteries it will take up a great deal of your time.

P.S. His new live DVD "Who Knows" is really good but has some bits in between songs that will give you nightmares.

[Matt]

What's the deal with this controversy?

I loved AWK when he first came out, but lost interest with the subsequent releases.

This whole realeasing different albums in different countries business is odd to be sure.

[ChaddDerkins]

Matt, how do you feel about this title?  Better or worse than if it was called "Close Calls & Brick Walls"?

[kelly lynn]

i like that title.

i was never really that into him, but wouldn't turn off one of his songs if it came on the radio.

[Marty_McFly]

Matt, how do you feel about this title?  Better or worse than if it was called "Close Calls & Brick Walls"?

 

[Matt]

Matt, how do you feel about this title?  Better or worse than if it was called "Close Calls & Brick Walls"?

Much much much much much better than if it were called that!  No comparison.

[IAMSCREWD]

Go to this site (below) to read about the whole controversy thing. It only brushes the surface and gives some theories into what it might have been about. If you just google "Andrew WK Steev Mike" you will find a whole bunch of information from different people with even more theories.

www.awilkeskrier.homestead.com

[mattlame]

i loved going to awk shows.

the wolf was too epic, though.

[ChaddDerkins]

Go to this site (below) to read about the whole controversy thing. It only brushes the surface and gives some theories into what it might have been about. If you just google "Andrew WK Steev Mike" you will find a whole bunch of information from different people with even more theories.

www.awilkeskrier.homestead.com

Since that site was clearly created by a crazy, perhaps you could translate his rambling, manic subnormal thoughts into something us normals might be able to understand.

[Chris Grivet]

So wait...what? Someone post his discography. As far as I knew he just released I Get Wet and The Wolf. What else is out? Is there any way to obtain those 3 records released elsewhere? Do you think they will be available for download (legally or illegally)?

...are they any good?

I too lost interest after I Get Wet.

[IAMSCREWD]

Since that site was clearly created by a crazy, perhaps you could translate his rambling, manic subnormal thoughts into something us normals might be able to understand.

Actually, wikipedia has a pretty decent summary of it:

"Steev Mike" controversy
 
The Steev Mike 45Many contradictory versions of Andrew W.K.'s history and rise to celebrity have coexisted, with some of the contradictions seemingly coming from Andrew himself, however the source of the confusion is difficult to pin down. As a result, some have claimed he is an actor merely playing as a rock star, and a front for some sort of songwriter or songwriting team. It has been suggested that Andrew W.K.'s appearance is the creation of this entity. Rumors have circulated that before there was an "Andrew W.K." the press was holding interviews with a "Steev Mike" whose image and sound later became known as "Andrew W.K." (the first appearance of "Steev Mike" was inside the pages of the cutting-edge UK magazine "Dazed & Confused".) Furthermore, an 1991 unreleased vinyl record on Bulb Records by Steev Mike has been discovered and is the same music as the first 7" EP by the band Couch. The record is copywrited by Andrews father and Pete Larsen. A radio promo and a full album by Steev Mike have also been leaked onto the internet by unknown sources. The promo contains demos of tracks from I Get Wet and The Wolf, and even a demo of the new song Kicks & Bricks. The album has 12 tracks, 2 being not songs, but a spoken word piece and an interlude. The rest are songs from I Get Wet and The Wolf. The songs on the album have changed drastically on their appearances on I Get Wet and The Wolf.

Though seemingly no one knows who Steev Mike really is, he is listed as the producer of Andrew's first album, I Get Wet, his third album, Close Calls With Brick Walls, and his live DVD, Who Knows.

One thing that is related to Steev Mike is the number 55. This number became related to Steev Mike when Andrew W.K.'s website became "Hacked" and this number appeared in a bit of code. Now the number has been turning up everywhere A.W.K. related. Some places are the picture on his own homepage (The picture shows Andrew standing in an an alley under a sign, and the sign says "Lane One", with the number 5500 above it). Another place 55 has appeared is the Steev Mike 45 record. Etched into the dead wax of the vinylon side A is "SM-A 55". It is the same on side B, just replacing the letter A with B. But most strange of all places for the number to appear is Andrew's own album, Close Calls With Brick Walls. First off, on the front cover, Andrew's watch reads 5:50, and the watch reads that time in many pictures inside of the album booklet. Second, on the back of the alum, the 5's in track 5 and 15 are tinted gree, while the rest of the track numbers are white. Since this is a Japan/Korea-Only release, it is unknown whether these references will remain in the U.S. version.

[IAMSCREWD]

So wait...what? Someone post his discography. As far as I knew he just released I Get Wet and The Wolf. What else is out? Is there any way to obtain those 3 records released elsewhere? Do you think they will be available for download (legally or illegally)?

...are they any good?

I too lost interest after I Get Wet.

Close Calls With Brick Walls
Andrew WK's latest album, Close Calls With Brick Walls, was released in Japan and South Korea in July 2006. During an interview on Japanese radio, Andrew explained that the title related both to his life and music as he narrowly avoided hitting a dead end, and instead sought new horizons in his work.

The album contains 18 tracks (the South Korean version includes an additional 4 bonus tracks)

[edit]
Preview tracks, further music
Some tracks on the album were known to the public prior to the album's release. Previews of two songs, "You Will Remember Tonight" and "Kicks and Bricks" were available on Andrew's official website during late 2005 as teasers for the upcoming album, but were later removed. A modified version of "You Will Remember Tonight" appeared on the new album, but the fate of Kicks and Bricks is unknown.

In March 2006, during an episode of Sex Pistol's guitarist Steve Jones' radio show, "Jonsie's Jukebox", Andrew WK debuted the song "Vagabond", which did not appear on Close Calls. A day after "Vagabond" was played on the show, an unknown source leaked a new song, the title of which was rumoured at the time to be "No Love (Just Friends)but it has since transpired that the song in question was "One Brother".[citation needed]

Andrew was also involved in filming the Japanese promotional video for "Not Going To Bed" in a Pennsylvania hotel;[citation needed] this song has since appeared on Close Calls.

In May 2006, a 5-track CD was released, containing versions of the previously-heard tracks "One Brother", "Vagabond" and "You Will Remember Tonight". The two new tracks were "My World" and "I Need To See You".

In early June 2006 , a radio interview featuring Andrew was leaked onto the internet. The interview was from "Bay FM" radio in Japan, and featured 3 new songs. The songs were "Not Going To Bed", "Pushing Drugs", and "Into The Clear". A few days later, another Japanese radio station played a new song, titled "The Background". This track was soon leaked onto the internet.[citation needed]

On July 4th 2006 he was the main guest on the Japanese show Rock Fujiyama with Marty Friedman. Since then and through August 2006 he is often seen attending the TV show.

Andrew announced on his website that he will be releasing three new albums in 2006-2007. In addition to Close Calls, the two other albums are "Young Lord", and "The Carrier". Additionally, two new websites are in the works, and there are rumours of a TV show. Future song titles are rumoured to include "We're Never Gonna Get Old."

[Harry Hijinks]

i seemed to have missed "andrew wk". and seem to be ok.

[Pleasedontrock]

i seemed to have missed "andrew wk". and seem to be ok.

Something about getting a party started? And maybe some lady lumps? Or am I confused?

[Chris Grivet]

Seems like a big publicity stunt...or something similar to the whole Garth BRooks alter-ego/personality thing.

I dont care either way as long as the music is good. Is it?

[lushj]

I dont care either way as long as the music is good. Is it?

"I Get Wet" is a five star party album. "The Wolf" is boring. The live shows are insane.

[JoeIII]

The best AWK story I've heard was before he was famous, he had a street level apartment somewhere.  One night he decides to take his keyboard, take the amp it's hooked up to, open the window, put it outside, put the keyboard itself IN the window sill itself, and slams the window down on it, pressing down on all the keys at once, and runs away.

[Christian]

This just in : Paul McCartney is also dead.

[uncle devin]

"I want your face" is worth the price of admission, even if the majority of the album is worse than listening to a 12 year old tear the legs off of a rabid squirrel.  Andrew WK is the Darlington of whatever the fuck Andrew WK is/does.